Here's the fool!

[Sahand Sahebdivani]

Hey everyone,

When we celebrated the 12 year birthday of the Mezrab, a theater maker I admire greatly gifted me a wooden doll. It was a jester with arms and legs that moved when you pulled a string. We are fools, she said, marching to our own beat. Don't forget it. I held on to this toy for years when it was gifted to me, now it's yours. A few days ago one of my daughters went through my stuff and found it. It was a great moment of synchronicity. She found the toy just as we are unveiling the topic and schedule of the upcoming Amsterdam Storytelling Festival. The Fool! Life has its own poetry. I hope you have already blocked the days of the festival: November 6 - 9 (with a special surprise show being announced for Nov 5). Have a look here: www.storytellingfestival.nl . You can already get the tickets on the website.

Dancing to the beat of your own drum also means printing a book of personal stories, just as the world thinks printed books are dead. It means collecting more than thirty Mezrab tellers and asking them to share a story about home, and to offer the chance to take this book home. We started a crowdfunding for it, and since I mentioned it in last week's email you were generous enough to fund a third of the funds needed to make this book a reality! If you haven't done so, have a look at our crowdfunding page.

And now look at the upcoming events:

Tomorrow (Tuesday) we have another experimental storytelling night called Welcome to the Playground. We will use it have fun and try different material! Entrance is free.

Thursday we bring back the South Italian music night that was such a hit a few months ago. Amsterdam's favorite Sicilian Vincenzo brings musicians and food for an unforgettable evening. Info and tickets here.

Saturday night is our classical comedy night! Get your tickets now, as this night sells out.

Then on Sunday we bring you a night that is very dear to us: the New Harvest. Instead of booking 6-8 tellers  we offer 3 artists the chance to dive into something longer. They are invited to think of theatrical elements to add to their show, using props or light or anything they feel like experimenting. The New Harvest nights are fun and important, offering a step for artists to rise to a new level. You as an audience are indispensable! Get your tickets now, we offer them at a low symbolic price, and the tickets all go to the artists.

That's it for now, enjoy the foolish offerings!

Sahand & Team

www.mezrab.nl

PS, for the lovers of all things story, there's three things you can't miss in October:

!) The Mezrab is collaborating with the University of Amsterdam on October 10-11 to spread knowledge on Oral traditions and contemporary storytelling. Of course, if you come to the Mezrab you know about the contemporary styles, but have a look at this amazing line up of topics that are offered, from the Hittite and Homeric traditions to medieval story structures. Sign up for this event to join! Location and other conditions here!

2) The Mezrab Storytelling School is offering new intro courses, Story Labs (one day intensives in which you bring your material to the stage) and a telling stories for children course that I am teaching myself on October 17, 18 and 19. Come on, it's time to learn! Have a look on www.mezrabstorytellingschool.nl and sign up!

2) The Jewish-Canadian master of stories, former director for many decades of the Toronto Storytelling Festival and one of my personal inspirations in Storytelling, Dan Yashinsky, is doing a show in the Mezrab on Thursday October 23